Strong Enough
by BandBfan24
Summary: Songfic inspired by Sheryl Crow song 'Strong Enough'. Booth tries to convince Brennan that he is strong enough. Pure BB fluff. The song starts in chapter 2 had to set up first. Enjoy and don't forget to R&R.
1. An Ending

**STRONG ENOUGH **

This is a song-fic (my first song-fic by the way, hope I get it right) that takes place after Judas on a Pole. The song is Strong Enough by Sheryl Crow.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Okay I own my stuff, trust me Bones is not mine. :::pouts::: Sheryl Crow's song doesn't belong to me either, don't really want it, but her talent sure would be nice.

A/N: This is something I came up with a while back. I'm still working on my other fic, had this lying around and thought it might tide you over. Enjoy. (I hope)

** Chapter 1: An Ending**

Booth's SUV

As Booth pulled up in front of Cam's place, he felt anxious, he wasn't sure why. There was just a feeling of needing to be anywhere else. Well not anywhere else! There was only one place he needed…wanted to be and it wasn't here. Cam wasn't the one he wanted to be with.

"Seeley, do you want to come up?" she smiled suggestively as she reached out and touched his arm.

He jumped as if he had been burned, then looked at her guiltily. "No Cam, I can't."

"Why not? Tomorrow's not a work day, you don't have Parker." She looked at him curiously, something wasn't quite right. "Come on up, we can talk."

"I said I can't. I need to be somewhere else." Booth turned in his seat, took a deep breath and continued "Cam, I'm sorry but I can't do this."

"Well, call me later and we can arrange another time to get together."

"No, I mean I can't do THIS anymore, us. It isn't fair to you or me and I can't keep doing this. When we first started seeing each other again, it was meant to be just recreational. Just for fun. That's what we agreed to."

"So you're not having fun anymore?" Cam's voice took on an edge to it. She knew that this had been brewing for a while now and that it would come to a head soon. She figured it was only a matter of time, that was confirmed for her when she saw Seeley and Brennan outside the dinner earlier.

"Cam this has absolutely nothing to do with you. I shouldn't have started it in the first place. Please you have to understand that I had no intention of hurting you." He was hoping that she would understand and not make things more difficult than necessary. "It's not fair to you to be seeing someone who there for you all the way, I'm not, I'm sorry."

Cam gathered her things and turned to look at him, her eyes a little sad. She had hoped that his feelings would change, that he would grow to feel about her the way that she felt about him. She realized that he would never feel that about her. Thinking back to a time not long after she came to the Jeffersonian when he told her: 'I'm with Bones, Cam, all the way. Don't doubt it for a second." Cam came to the realization that she had fooled herself, she had doubted. Still she had pushed him into this, it wasn't his fault. She gave a sigh and told him "Don't worry Seeley, I knew it was coming. It was fun while it lasted and I promise no hard feelings." With that she closed the door to his SUV and went into her apartment.

Booth sat there for a while thinking that had gone a lot better that he had any right to hope for. As he pulled away from the curb, he turned on the radio as he headed off to run a couple of errands and then go to where he really wanted to be.


	2. A Confession

**Disclaimer: Neither Bones nor the song belong to me. Oh how I wish they did, think of all the fun I could have. **

** Chapter 2: A Confession**

As Booth pulled into the parking lot of the store a song came on that caught his attention.

GOD, I FEEL LIKE HELL TONIGHT  
TEARS OF RAGE I CANNOT FIGHT  
I'D BE THE LAST TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND  
ARE YOU STRONG ENOUGH TO BE MY MAN?

NOTHING'S TRUE AND NOTHING'S RIGHT  
SO LET ME BE ALONE TONIGHT  
CAUSE YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE WAY I AM  
ARE YOU STRONG ENOUGH TO BE MY MAN?

LIE TO ME  
I PROMISE I'LL BELIEVE  
LIE TO ME  
BUT PLEASE DON'T LEAVE

I HAVE A FACE I CANNOT SHOW  
I MAKE THE RULES UP AS I GO  
IT'S TRY AND LOVE ME IF YOU CAN  
ARE YOU STRONG ENOUGH TO BE MY MAN?

WHEN I'VE SHOWN YOU THAT I JUST DON'T CARE  
WHEN I'M THROWING PUNCHES IN THE AIR  
WHEN I'M BROKEN DOWN AND I CAN'T STAND  
WILL YOU BE STRONG ENOUGH TO BE MY MAN?

LIE TO ME  
I PROMISE I'LL BELIEVE  
LIE TO ME  
BUT PLEASE DON'T LEAVE

As the song faded away he got out of the car, went in and got what he needed. As he shopped, the words from the song played again in his mind. Booth knew that what he needed to do was to show Bones that he was strong enough, for anything. Shopping done, he headed to Brennan's.

bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb-bb

Brennan's Apartment

Brennan was standing in the dark looking out the window when she saw Booth pull up. She wasn't surprised that he came over, though she was surprised that he hadn't shown up sooner. Then she saw the shopping bag and Wong Foo's bag and knew what had kept him. He was always there for her; he was the one thing in her life that she could count on. She turned and headed to the door.

As Booth raised his hand to knock on Brennan's door, the door opened. Brennan was standing there in pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. She was looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"What took so long Booth?" she asked as she moved aside to let him in

"How did you know I was coming Bones?" he inquired while he was kicking off his shoes

"Because I know you Seeley Booth." She said with a smile, although the smile never quite reached her eyes. She took the food bag from him and led the way to the dining room. "You probably thought I shouldn't be alone, you know you have that alpha-male thing going on and you've always been overly protective."

"I am not overly protective" he protested weakly

"Yeah right Booth, come on let's eat."

As if by some unspoken agreement, they ate in silence. When the food was gone and the dining room cleaned, they moved to the living room. Brennan headed back to the window and stared out again, just as she had been doing before he arrived. Booth retrieved something from the other bag he brought, placed it on the coffee table, settled onto the couch and waited.

"Booth, why did you come? I knew you would, but why?" her back was still turned to him, her arms wrapped around her middle. To him she looked like a lost little girl, he imagined her like this at 15 when she was left by her family the first time.

He rose silently and made his way to stand behind her. She started as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest. She could feel the heat from him through both of their shirts and she started to relax. Then she felt the rumble of voice as he told her.

"Quoting what a very smart person once told me 'I'm your partner Bones, let me be your partner.' I came because this is where I wanted to be. My partner is hurting, so I'm hurting. Besides, I didn't have anywhere else that I needed or wanted to be.'

'What about Cam, surely she would that this goes above and beyond normal partnership. And it does you know.' Brennan spoke in a soft voice; she was afraid he would remember Cam and leave her here alone.

"Cam and I will only be seeing each other through work from now on. After everything that has happened the last few weeks, I've started realizing that being with Cam wasn't what I wanted or needed. It was just a fling really, what did you call it 'satisfying biological urges'. I think that Cam though, may have started feeling it would grow into something else, but it wasn't going to happen so I ended it." His words were honest and she was relieved to hear them. Booth placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. 'You're right Bones, it does go above and beyond for partners."

Brennan gazed up into chocolate brown eyes and searched their depths, but didn't see anything dishonest there. She did see something that confused her, not sure what it was. Not sure of what he was trying to tell her.

"Booth, earlier when you told me that there was more than one type of family what did you mean?"

As he looked down into her eyes, he hoped that he could get through to her his real meaning without scaring her away.

"Well obviously there is the family that you are born into, you have no choice they are your family. They are supposed to be the ones that you can depend on no matter what, but that's not always the case, you know that." Her head dropped at these words. Booth reached down, just as he had at the diner, and lifted her gaze to his "Then there is the other kind of family, the family that you choose. That family is the one that you make for yourself. That family is one you make out of your friends, people that you can always count on, people that you know will be there for you. You have a family Bones, you Angela, Hodgins and Zach."

He saw a flicker of hurt in her eyes when he didn't include himself in her family, so continued on.

"You make a family for yourself from the people that you love and from the people that love you. I love you Temperance, I'll be your family, Parker and I, we can be your family too. Choose us, choose me, I'm your family. Let. Me. Be. Your. Family." He put all the love he had for her into those last words, hoping she would believe him and know that he meant every word.

Tears came to her eyes, she finally recognized what she saw in his eyes, it was love. And it scared her to death, she jumped back out of his arms.

"Booth, I … I don't know what to say." She stuttered. She wanted to reach out to him, but the fear was too great. What if he left her just like everyone else? He was the one thing that she couldn't stand to lose.

He could see the confusion in her face and knew this is where things were going to start getting rough. He saw the war going on inside her, he knew it would be tough for her, but she needed to choose. Booth watched as she backed away from him, shaking her head.

"No Booth there's too much at stake, like you said before too many strings, too much to lose. I can't, I've already lost enough."

"Temperance, listen to me, please." He tried to keep his voice as calm and reassuring as walked towards her "I am the one thing that you won't lose, I'm not going anywhere. I will be here for you no matter what you decide, but I can't deny what I'm feeling anymore, you needed to know. I know that there are an awful lot of strings, but trust me there is nothing to lose, nothing except for the chance at something greater than what we have now."

She kept backing away from him until her back was against the wall. Booth kept going until he stopped just inches away from her. He raised his hands, putting one on either side of her face, forcing her to look into his eyes. He wanted her to see the love and honesty there.

"Even if you say no, I'll be your partner, I'll be your best friend, I'll be your family just like Angela and the guys are. I'm not going anywhere, you won't be alone anymore. I promise you Temperance." he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, one on each cheek "Temperance, you just have to brave, take a chance and make a choice. Choose me. Choose us." With that he lowered his head one more time and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.  
After a moment, he raised his head and stared into her eyes. He saw the confusion there, but he also desire. That gave him hope.

"Temperance, I'm gonna go okay."

"What? I thought you said you weren't going anywhere, you said I wouldn't be alone." This time he saw hurt in her eyes.

"Baby, you will never be alone again. I'm just giving you some time and some space to think about what I'm offering you okay?" he placed one more soft kiss on her mouth, then he dropped his hands and went to gather his things. He stopped at the door and turned back to her.

"Just so you know, I'm strong enough." He said this and flashed her the 'charm' smile. Then he waited for the inevitable response. She didn't disappoint him.

"I don't know what that means." Her face was one of confusion

"I know Bones, but you will, I left you a little something on the coffee table."

And with that he walked out the door and closed it gently behind him.

Booth didn't go far though, he sat down with his back against the wall opposite of Temperance's door to wait again. Hopefully the wait wouldn't be long


	3. A Realization

**Disclaimer: Yet again I own nothing except my laptop, my mp3 player, my ideas and my crazy little poodle who thinks he's part human. If I owned Bones Booth would never wear a shirt. If I owned the song I would be rich.**

** Chapter 3 – An Realization**

Inside the apartment, Brennan moved to the coffee table to see what Booth had left for her. It was a Sheryl Crow CD and there was a note attached. 'Temperance, listen to the track Strong Enough and you'll know what I meant earlier. Booth.'

She went to the CD player, got everything set and listened. The song was really good, she had always liked songs that said something, ones that had a point. It was obvious what Booth was trying to tell her, that he was strong enough to handle anything she sent his way, but was he?

As the song finished, she went back to the CD player and restarted the song. This time she set in on a continuous loop and turned the volume up. She settled back on the couch nursing her beer.

GOD, I FEEL LIKE HELL TONIGHT  
TEARS OF RAGE I CANNOT FIGHT  
I'D BE THE LAST TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND  
ARE YOU STRONG ENOUGH TO BE MY MAN?

Yeah, she definitely felt like hell tonight. She had so many emotions going thru her. Rage was one, rage at her family for leaving her, again. Rage at her father for talking to Russ and not her. Rage at Russ, he knew how badly she had been affected by her family's previous desertion and for him to do it again was almost unbearable. Rage at herself for letting her father get away. The one person though that she wasn't mad at was Booth. She had been so torn when Booth had pulled the gun on her father, but she couldn't let Booth be the one to arrest or shoot him. He would have felt too much guilt. She would have been mad at him then for arresting her father. It would have come between them, she just couldn't let him be the one. It didn't make any sense to her, so how could she explain it to him. Is he strong enough?

bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb

Out in the hall, Booth could hear the song playing over and over. He smiled to himself…this just might work.

bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb—bb

NOTHING'S TRUE AND NOTHING'S RIGHT  
SO LET ME BE ALONE TONIGHT  
CAUSE YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE WAY I AM  
ARE YOU STRONG ENOUGH TO BE MY MAN?

Booth always seemed to know just what she needed. If she needed alone time he gave it to her. When she needed company he was there. He seemed to know what she needed even when she denied it. No, Booth couldn't change the way she was, but then again, he had never tried. He might have tried to get her to improve certain aspects of how she dealt with situations, however, he had never tried to change who she was. Booth was happy with her the way she was, even though she drove him nuts some times. But was he strong enough to be her MAN? Not just her partner, but her family.

I HAVE A FACE I CANNOT SHOW  
I MAKE THE RULES UP AS I GO  
IT'S TRY AND LOVE ME IF YOU CAN  
ARE YOU STRONG ENOUGH TO BE MY MAN?

Booth really knew her. He knew the little things: how she liked her coffee, what her favorite color was, what kind of donuts she liked. But Booth also knew the big things, the things that scared her, the things that made her sad and happy. Angela was her best girlfriend. Booth was just her best friend. There were so many things that he knew about her that no one else knew. It was a comforting thing, because he still kept coming back. He never gave up on her. Maybe, he is strong enough.

WHEN I'VE SHOWN YOU THAT I JUST DON'T CARE  
WHEN I'M THROWING PUNCHES IN THE AIR  
WHEN I'M BROKEN DOWN AND I CAN'T STAND  
WILL YOU BE STRONG ENOUGH TO BE MY MAN?

There were so many times that, due to lack of social skills, she had said something rude and unforgivable to Booth, yet he always returned. He put up with her anger. He put up with her stubbornness. He even busted himself out of the hospital when she was in danger. He held her when she was scared, even that time when he had broken rib. He always put her needs before his own. Maybe he is strong enough! This thought brought a smile to her face.

As the song finished yet again, who knows how many times it had played, she went over to the CD player and shut it off.

I PROMISE I'LL BELIEVE  
LIE TO ME  
BUT PLEASE DON'T LEAVE

Booth hadn't lied to her, he never had. He had told her that he loved her, he wanted to be her family. He told her that he would be there for her no matter what she decided.

He told her he was strong enough. Now all she had to do was decide if she believed!

She grabbed her keys and bag, heading for the door. She just needed to see his face, look into the chocolate brown eyes she loved. If she could just see his face she would know. Brennan had what she needed, she took a deep breath and opened the door to go find Booth.


	4. A Beginning

**Thanks for the reviews. I appreciate them very much. I am a huge Bones fan and Sheryl Crow fan, i'm glad that I could combine the two in a way you would enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, dangit, none of it. Wait! Something is mine! My idea for the story. That and a quarter will get me squat. Oh well, had fun playing and paying my respect.**

** Chapter 4: A Beginning**

Before Brennan could even shut the door, she saw Booth sitting on the floor his knees drawn up with his arms crossed across his chest. He was staring at her with a small smile on his face.

"Hi Bones!"

"Hi Booth." She said with a small smile, she dropped her gaze to the floor and shuffled back and forth on her feet. She had been so eager to see Booth and now that she was faced with him, she was overcome with nervousness.

Booth got to his feet and crossed the hall to her. He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Then he put his palm against her cheek. "You going somewhere Temperance, you're still in your pj's and slippers." His voice had teasing lilt to it.

"I was in a hurry." She raised her gaze to his and covered his hand with hers "I had somewhere I needed to be."

"Where could you possibly need to be in such a hurry that you didn't even put shoes on?"

"Right here." And with that she stepped into his arms and wrapped her own around him.

"Umm Bones, let's go back inside okay?" he backed her into the apartment and shut the door behind them, their arms were still wrapped around each other "so you were coming to see me huh?"

She nodded into his chest, still hold him tightly. "Booth how long were you gonna sit out there?"

"As long as it took. I knew that you had things that you needed to work out on your own and that when you were ready you would come to me."

"How can you be so sure of me, of us?" she leaned back and looked at him.

He pulled her arms from around him, took her by the hand and led her to the couch. He sat down and drew her onto his lap. He took her face between his hands and brought her face down to his. He placed a soft kiss on her lips and was pleased when she responded. The kiss went quickly from gentle to intense, both of them searching for answer from the other. Booth withdrew first, took a shaky breath and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I have faith in you Temperance. I know you better than you think I do. I know that when you make a decision you completely commit to it. And if you choose to commit to us, nothing can stand in our way." He gave her a smile "I know there will be certain issues that will need to be addressed, but we can face that together. We just have to get passed this first hurdle." He started placing soft kisses on one cheek, then the other, her forehead, the tip of her nose and then a small chaste one on her lips. He drew back to look into her eyes. He tried to convey all his love and strength to her.

"Seeley?"

"Yes Temperance?"

"Tell me again." She didn't elaborate, but then again she didn't really need to

"You make a family for yourself from the people that you love and from the people that love you. I love you Temperance, I'll be your family, Parker and I, we can be your family too. Choose us, choose me, I'm your family. Let. Me. Be. Your. Family." He recited his previous words exactly and just like then he let his love shine through.

"I've decided." She said on a whisper. Without looking at him she rose from his lap. His heart sunk for a moment until she looked at him. He saw the answer there in those gorgeous blue eyes and wanted to pull her back into his arms, but he gave her the time she needed to tell him. He gave her the time she needed to work through the last of her fears.

"I chose a long time ago I suppose, I just didn't realize it. At least I didn't realize it until today. Before I go any further I need to explain why I stopped you from taking my dad in."

"You don't have to explain.." he didn't get any further before she cut him off

"Yes, I do." She took a deep breath and continued, her voice barely a whisper as she stood before him wringing her hands. "When my dad told you to take care of me, he saw it too. He saw what was, is between us. He recognized it right away, before you got there he told me that if I ever found someone that I trusted, that I should hold on to them. He knew Booth. That's why I couldn't let you take him in. You would have felt guilt, I would have been upset. It would have come between us. My dad has caused me enough grief in my life, I couldn't let him take the one thing left in my life that I counted on, the one thing that I trusted and believed it. I couldn't let him take you away from me."

"That's when I made my choice Booth, I made it then and there, I chose you, I chose us. I chose when it was still just a dream I had." She took a breath and looked him in the eye "I know that at times it seems I've been oblivious to what's going on between us, but I haven't been. I was just scared, scared to ruin what we have already. But I'm not scared anymore."

"Why aren't you scared, I need to know honey" he pleaded with his eyes, he needed to hear the words, he was the one who needed reassurance now. He looked down as she held out her hand, he placed his hand in hers and rose to stand in front of her, he took of both of her hands in hers.

The words of the song rang through her mind once again.

WHEN I'VE SHOWN YOU THAT I JUST DON'T CARE  
WHEN I'M THROWING PUNCHES IN THE AIR  
WHEN I'M BROKEN DOWN AND I CAN'T STAND  
WILL YOU BE STRONG ENOUGH TO BE MY MAN?

LIE TO ME  
I PROMISE I'LL BELIEVE  
LIE TO ME  
BUT PLEASE DON'T LEAVE

"Seeley, you've shown me in little ways and in big ways that you are strong enough. You've been by my side through some of the roughest times of my life. You've never tried to change me, only to make me a better person. You've backed me up. You fought with me and against me. You've never left me. You've been with me through good times. You've held me when I cried. You've saved my life, more than once. You, Seeley Booth, have proven to me time and again that you are strong enough. I believe Seeley." She paused and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

"You told me that I can make a family for myself from the people that I love and from the people that love me. I love you Seeley Booth. I want you to be my family, you and Parker, I want you both to be my family. I Choose us, I choose you, I want to be your family. Please. Be. My. Family." Her voice had gotten stronger as she finished, tears running down her face.

She lifted her hands to wipe the tears that were on Seeley's cheeks, before she was pulled into his arms.

"I love you Temperance, you'll never be sorry you chose us, I promise"

"I love you Seeley and I believe." She had a grin on her face as she said "But Seeley, please don't leave" he recognized the lines from the song and grinned back at her.

"So how strong are you?" she teased

"I'm strong enough to be your partner. Strong enough to be your best friend. I'm definitely strong enough to be your man" he grinned down at her, with a wink and a flash of the famous Booth charm smile he added "Oh yeah and I'm definitely strong enough to be your lover."

"Prove it strong man" she flashed her own charm smile.

"You don't have to tell me twice." He laughed as he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

The End.

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I will leave you to imagine what happens upstairs. The mind is a very dirty thing so have fun. lol. Please review and let me know what you thought. Thanks.


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